Whitetail Deer Hunting: The Two Critical Pieces of Information
Hunting whitetails is never a sure thing. But success is not random, either. Hunters make their own luck. There are two essential pieces of information required to be consistently successful: location of deer bedding areas and location of active food sources. This is true no matter where you hunt whitetails. Never get distracted by deer sign until you know these two basic facts.
It is important not to assume that the deer are feeding in a specific place, like a small corn field or an apple tree in the middle of the woods. It may look good to you, but it may not be attractive to deer, for whatever reason. Scouting is key. Look for sign at the food source. Abundant sign, not just a few tracks. Keep looking until you find where the deer are feeding. Use aerial photos to help in larger areas. But identify active food sources. Get out and look for deer coming out to feed in the evenings. Place scouting cameras if you have to. Do whatever is necessary to find where the deer are feeding. It is critical to consistent success.
It is also imperative to know where the deer are bedding. Identify bedding areas. Look for overgrown fields, thickets, overgrown tree lines separating fields, etc. Then go look for deer sign. Jump deer at midday if you have to. Better to do this before hunting season, but do it during hunting season if you have to. Figure out where the deer sleep.
When scouting a new area, don't get distracted by scrapes, rubs, and tracks in the woods until you know the two basic facts. Only then should you consider the other deer sign and what it means. Remember that rubs and scrapes are territorial markings, nothing more and nothing less. Yes, bucks do return to them sometimes, but simply hunting over scrapes or rubs can be a total waste of time. Find the food and the beds first. Then look for other deer sign.
When you have these two pieces of information, you seriously tip the hunting odds in your favor. Now you can look for trails from food to bed, bedding areas to other bedding areas, funnels, etc. You can hunt closer to food in the evening, and closer to bedding areas in the morning. Pretty soon you will know exactly where to hunt for consistent success.
It is important not to assume that the deer are feeding in a specific place, like a small corn field or an apple tree in the middle of the woods. It may look good to you, but it may not be attractive to deer, for whatever reason. Scouting is key. Look for sign at the food source. Abundant sign, not just a few tracks. Keep looking until you find where the deer are feeding. Use aerial photos to help in larger areas. But identify active food sources. Get out and look for deer coming out to feed in the evenings. Place scouting cameras if you have to. Do whatever is necessary to find where the deer are feeding. It is critical to consistent success.
It is also imperative to know where the deer are bedding. Identify bedding areas. Look for overgrown fields, thickets, overgrown tree lines separating fields, etc. Then go look for deer sign. Jump deer at midday if you have to. Better to do this before hunting season, but do it during hunting season if you have to. Figure out where the deer sleep.
When scouting a new area, don't get distracted by scrapes, rubs, and tracks in the woods until you know the two basic facts. Only then should you consider the other deer sign and what it means. Remember that rubs and scrapes are territorial markings, nothing more and nothing less. Yes, bucks do return to them sometimes, but simply hunting over scrapes or rubs can be a total waste of time. Find the food and the beds first. Then look for other deer sign.
When you have these two pieces of information, you seriously tip the hunting odds in your favor. Now you can look for trails from food to bed, bedding areas to other bedding areas, funnels, etc. You can hunt closer to food in the evening, and closer to bedding areas in the morning. Pretty soon you will know exactly where to hunt for consistent success.
posted by Zarathustra | 9:58 PM
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